On the fast track to success

Deepa Bharath

Eight local companies have made it on the list of the 50 fastest

growing high-tech operations in Orange County.

In the two previous years, only three Newport-Mesa companies made

the annual Orange County Fast 50 list, put out by Deloitte & Touche,

a professional services firm that ranks the companies based on their

revenue growth. This is the list’s sixth year.

The ranking will be revealed to the 50 finalists at an awards

luncheon in Newport Beach on Tuesday.

The Newport Beach companies that made the top 50 list are:

American Vanguard Corp., The TriZetto Group and Universal Space

Network Inc. Five Costa Mesa corporations -- Ceradyne Inc., Emulex

Corp., Irvine Sensors Corp., Mission Controls Automation Inc. and

Ribapharm Inc. -- are also among the finalists.

Winners are selected based on the percentage of growth in revenues

between the years 1998 and 2002, said Mark Miskinis, audit partner

with Deloitte & Touche.

He said that to be considered, the entrants must have had a

minimum revenue of $50,000 in 1998 and at least $1 million in 2002

and be public or private technology-based companies that are

headquartered in Orange County.

Subsidiaries and divisions are not eligible unless they have some

public ownership and are separately traded, Miskinis said.

He said most Orange County companies that make the list are from

South County cities such as Irvine.

“It’s tough to see any definitive trends,” Miskinis said. “But we

do see that, typically, 75 to 80% of the companies that make the list

are public. The biggest ones are software, communications or biotech

companies.”

The awards are given out each year to “recognize the achievements

of the fast-growing tech companies,” he said.

“These companies are a big driver of the business market in Orange

County,” Miskinis said.

The awards are handed out in all areas across the nation, and

winners get entered into the list of the top 500 companies in the

country.

Joel Moskowitz, chairman and chief executive officer of Ceradyne

Inc., said his company is growing rapidly thanks to the high demand

from the military for its products.

The company makes advanced, technical ceramic products and

components for defense, industrial, automotive and commercial

applications. Last week, Ceradyne received a four-year contract from

the Department of Defense for lightweight ceramic armor.

“It’s the biggest contract of our career,” said Moskowitz, who

founded the company about 35 years ago.

This is Ceradyne’s first nomination to the county’s Top 50 list.

“Our company has been growing by 30% each year,” Moskowitz said.

“That’s because the products we make are unlike what’s produced by

the dot-com companies or the semiconductor industry.”

Data storage company Emulex Corp. has seen similar success because

the company “has been fortunate to compete in an industrial sector

that has remained strong through tough economic times,” said Mike

Smith, vice president of worldwide marketing.

“We’ve remained focused on improving our products and providing

better customer service,” he said. “We’ve almost doubled our market

share from 25% five years ago to 45% in 2002.”

Smith said the company’s place on the prestigious list is a

yardstick for success.

“It tells us our employees have been doing a great job,” he said.

“It tells us that we’re doing the right things and moving in the

right direction.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.